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It is M&A Monday as Annaly Capital Management, Inc. (NYSE:NLY) has announced a definitive merger agreement, where it will acquire Hatteras Financial Corp. (NYSE:HTS) for around $15.85 per share. Hatteras shareholders can receive all cash, 1.5226 shares of Annaly, or 0.9894 shares of Annaly and $5.55 in cash. The cash component is subject to a condition where 35% of the total consideration paid for the acquisition must be in cash. Annaly management expects the deal to be accretive to the company’s book value per share and core earnings in 2016. Annaly CEO Kevin Keyes said:

“This strategic transaction represents a unique and sizeable value creation opportunity for our shareholders. With the acquisition of Hatteras, we significantly grow our diversified portfolio and broaden our investment options, further fortifying Annaly’s position as the market leading mortgage REIT.”

Annaly Capital Management, Inc. (NYSE:NLY) is 1.3% in the red while Hatteras Financial Corp. (NYSE:HTS) shares are more than 10% in the green on the news. As of December 31 2015, 10 funds from our database held 2.7% of Annaly’s float while nine investors amassed held 8.2% of Hatteras. Jim Simons’ Renaissance Technologies reported positions in both companies in its last 13F filing.

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Bloomin’ Brands Inc (NASDAQ:BLMN)’s shares are 3.68% in the green today after receiving some analyst love from Credit Suisse. According to a newly released report from the investment bank, falling beef prices and a steadying Brazilian real could help earnings of the restaurant chain, while the company’s investments in its marketing, technology and menus could help its same store sales recover. The analysts also wrote:

“[if] fundamentals improve, the stock has significant upside on multiple expansion and rising investor confidence. If fundamentals do not improve, strategic action may come to the fore.”

Because of those factors, the analysts upgraded Bloomin’ Brands Inc (NASDAQ:BLMN) to ‘Outperform’ from ‘Neutral’ and raised their price target to $21 per share from $17. Bloomin’ Brands also has some hedge fund fans, with 22 investors among those we track owning $284.89 million worth of the company’s shares and accounting for 14.10% of the float on December 31.

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